Bobby Ryan: 6-1 victory eases some of the pressure

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Hello Times readers! We just finished our game against Norway today and came away with a 6-1 win at Canada Hockey Place. I think the guys on the team are a little more comfortable and the locker room is a little looser now. That’s important.

Today we struggled for some offense until later in the game when we kind of took over physically. Goaltender Ryan Miller stood on his head and made some big-time saves.

It’s busy in Vancouver, to say the least. I just walked from the rink after our game to meet my family, and the whole city was on high alert. Everyone was getting ready for the Canada-Switzerland game. People were walking around with Canadian flags all over the place. It’s pretty incredible right now.

One of the funniest things I’ve seen so far was a guy at our game today who grew his facial hair like Abe Lincoln. He made it on the JumboTron a few times after we scored. We don’t have a lot of support up here but that was cool to see.

Last night, we sat around the Athlete’s Village and watched snowboarder’s Shaun White’s run to the goal medal. That was pretty incredible. The Village is beautiful and I’ve heard the condos we’re staying in will be sold for over a million dollars each once the Games are over. Vancouver has just done an amazing job.

I’ve been able to spend a little time outside the village. My mom and girlfriend are here with me and we’ve had dinner each night other than the nights before a game. I’ll spend the whole night with them tonight as tomorrow is the first day off we’ve had since we arrived. I’m looking forward to seeing some sights around town! Talk to you again soon!

-- Bobby Ryan

Winger Bobby Ryan of the Ducks and the U.S. Olympic hockey team is joining The Times’ Olympic blog and will be posting his thoughts periodically during the Vancouver Games. Ryan, 22, is playing in his first Olympics.